


Red Paladins (Some things are out of your control)

by ninjawrites



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Corrupted Lance (Voltron), Dark Lance (Voltron), Friendship, Gen, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Impalement, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Keith (Voltron) Whump, Langst, Open Ending, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21664090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninjawrites/pseuds/ninjawrites
Summary: Lance has been affected by a horrible venom, only to awake to find the consequences are too much to bear.
Relationships: Keith & Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 151





	Red Paladins (Some things are out of your control)

**Author's Note:**

> Been thinking about this scenario a lot but it came out a bit more whumpy than expected...oops...

Keith’s vision wavers.

Darkness clouds the edge of his sight as the sharp pain slowly registers from deep within his abdomen. He doesn’t cry out. Instead, he keeps his gaze steady, watching as the neon red glow in Lance’s eyes dim, slowly, replaced by the familiar bright ocean blue he knows.

_There you are._

Lance blinks as his world comes back into focus, his chest still heaving from exertion.

“K-Keith, wha–”

Blue eyes snap down to the blade in his grip, eyes widening in shock and fear before he jolts back from the hilt as if it burned his palms. 

A shrill scream echoes throughout the canyon.

Lance stumbles back and falls, to the ground, a shaking hand coming to cup over his mouth. In that moment, Keith wants nothing more than to soothe him, erase the horror in his eyes that should never be there in the first place.

Because it’s okay. 

He may have a blade buried to the hilt in his gut, but it’s okay.

Keith falters, sinking to his knees in the red dust as he loses the ability to keep upright. Lance scrambles forward, catching Keith’s shoulders before he collapses. There is another sharp cry as the reddened tip of the broadsword comes into view from where it protrudes from Keith’s back. Though if it was him or Lance, Keith couldn’t tell.

“No, no no no–” Lance’s voice is raw and strangled, tears streaming down his face as he absorbs the sight of his bayard, the red bayard, buried in Keith’s body. “Keith! Wh-w-what—I didn’t—” Lance chokes back another sob. “I didn’t mean to-I didn’t mean—”

Keith coughs, drawing Lance’s eyes back to his face as he feels a drop of liquid spill from the corner of his mouth. He’s still able to draw breath, though the pain is increasing with rise of his chest.

“Aaah no no no…lo siento, lo siento…”

Suddenly the weapon between them glows, the red broadsword materializing back into bayard form at the hilt and clattering to the ground. Now free of the blade, Keith collapses with a cry, coughing up more rivers of red as the wound begins to flow freely.

“Ah Dios–” Lance curses as he gently sets Keith down on the floor, one hand cradling his teammates head while the other hovers above the wound, hesitant to cause more agony or open the wound further. Lance knows, he knows that he has to apply pressure or else Keith will have no chance of making it back. (No, he’s not thinking about that, Keith will be fine, he has to.) But he’s barely absorbed what’s happened even if he has no idea why, and there’s just so much blood he can’t–he doesn’t–it’s his fault and-

“Lance,” Keith breathes out, bringing him out of his head and back to reality.

“D-Don’t worry Keith, I’m gonna get you back, you’ll be alright, you’re gonna be okay.” He rambles until he chokes out another sob, curling his head to Keith’s breastplate. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I don’t know what— I didn’t mean to hurt you–”

“Lance,” Keith grunts, grabbing hold of his friend’s hand and his attention.

“I…I forgive you.”

“What?” Lance’s eyes widen, and he blinks. “No…no no Keith stop talking like that.” Lance looks around frantically, searching for any sign of help in the span of the desert that surrounds them, a local, a lion in the distance, anything. 

“Guys! Help! Please! Keith is down, we need immediate extraction, we-” Lance shouts into his comms but Keith knows it’s useless. The team isn’t scheduled to arrive for another half a varga, and their rendezvous at the planet’s nearest village is at least a mile away. Something about the canyon they’re in messes with the communications, as Keith unfortunately figured out not long ago, when he’d called for backup and only got static in return.

Lance had been bitten. A slithering creature with the legs of a komodo dragon but the fangs of a cobra, had latched onto Lance’s arm. The creature didn’t last long, instantly hacked into pieces by Keith’s blade without mercy.

However, the danger was not past. 

As Lance hunched over, clutching his wrist and cursing, Keith tried to contact the castle, realizing they needed to get to the top of the canyon to do so. 

Turning to relay this to his teammate, he meets a pair of glowing red eyes, and a sinister glare that did not belong on that face.

A flash of a bayard was all the warning Keith had before a full length sword comes to life and clashes with his own, just inches above his head. It’s a blur after that, a clashing of swords and skill, Red Paladins up in arms against each other. Keith defended, lashing out only when necessary, fighting against his own instinct and muscle memory because this was _Lance_. A maniacal, corrupted version of him yes, but Lance nonetheless.

Lance was skilled. He attacked with a fury that could only be drug induced yet his precision didn’t falter. Keith kept up, pleading with his friend to snap out of it, praying to any entity in existence that his friend would be okay. 

They became deadlocked, swords and it was in that moment Keith knew this wouldn’t last. Time had passed, and Keith was starting to get sloppy. A line of red dripped from Lance’s cheek where his sword had swung just a tad too close. While Keith could feel the exhaustion seeping into his limbs, Lance’s body had not slowed. There was no telling how long the venom would last, nor how long he could hold off Lance off safely.

If this was an enemy fight he would’ve already won with a single decisive blow.

But that wasn’t going to happen.

He wouldn’t let it.

So, rather than risk Lance’s life, or die by Lance’s swing, Keith let his own blade slip.

He let it be his choice.

Lance’s voice fades out as nothing but the sound of static replies to his call for help. Lance looks up at the edge of the canyon above them, brows determined. In one fell swoop he lifts Keith bridal style, mumbling soft apologies as Keith cries out from the pain.

Keith knows he’s not gonna make it. He knew it the moment he chose to let his blade falter. His connection to Black isn’t deep enough to warrant a rescue, not like Red. As he feels his awareness fading, the only thing he cares about is Lance.

“I…forgive you. I really…do.” Keith whispers. If there’s anything he regrets, it’s that Lance will have to live with the guilt, the blame he would no doubt place on himself after Keith is gone, regardless of the fact that it wasn’t his fault in the first place.

That, and the fact he was unable to break the venom’s spell in the first place.

If this was anyone’s fault, it was his own.

“You were a good right hand.” Keith breathes, gripping Lance’s breastplate, as if it were the only thing still keeping him grounded to the world of the living. “I-I hope Black chooses you.”

“Shut up.” Lance snaps. “Shut up, Mullet you’re going to be okay.” Lance sniffs, trudging forward. “You have to be okay…”

“I’m…sorry...” Keith lifts his other hand to wipe the stream of tears from Lance’s cheek. He feels darkness creep from the edge of his vision, and soon enough, surrenders to it.

**Author's Note:**

> Interpret the ending however your heart needs. If this work gets a lot of love I might continue it so leave a comment! 
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


End file.
